Conch Salad - A Turks and Caicos Favorite
Have you ever eaten Conch? It’s a Turks and Caicos specialty! Conch (pronounced “konk”) is the second best known edible snail; the most popular would be the escargot from Burgundy, France. A popular food in the Caribbean you will find it on most restaurant menus in the region.
The meat inside the shell is entirely edible although most prefer just the white part. It may be eaten raw as in a salad or cooked - Conch fritters, soups, chowder or gumbo being the most popular. Conch Salad is a typical dish served throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands, there is even a restaurant that specializes in Conch appropriately named Da Conch Shack located on the beach in Blue Hills. Dining at picnic tables set in the sand, where the staff collects the fresh Conch from the water’s edge and serves a terrific Rum Punch. Dress is casual and bathing-suit & cover-ups and shorts & t-shirts are the norm when visiting for lunch or a late afternoon snack.
The Conch is a plant eater and may live as long as 25 years. The shell has a cream colored exterior with shades of pink inside making it a desirable souvenir for tourists and residents. It is found in many gift shops and may be used as a decoration, planter or you may see ones carved into serving bowl sets, cups and other small items.
The Conch Festival, held in Blue Hills each November, is an annual Turks and Caicos event where local chefs from the island restaurants participate in a cook-off. The best of the best Conch recipes are presented, cooked and served to the public. This is one of the most popular events during the year, the dates for 2010 are November 6th and 7th – so mark your calendars. The 2009 winners were as follows:
2009 Grand Champion – Bay Bistro
Best Conch Chowder – Salt Mills Diner in Grace Bay
Best Specialty Conch – Conch Burger at Seaside Restaurant Ocean Club East
Although there are hundreds of Conch Salad recipes, here is a basic one – add and delete ingredients as you wish:
1.5 lbs raw conch meat pounded and diced
½ an English cucumber, chopped
10 limes, squeezed
5 lemons, squeezed
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper or hot sauce
Combine all ingredients except the last, marinate for at least 4-5 hours in the fridge (may be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge overnight), add a dash of cayenne pepper or hot sauce just prior to serving.
Conch Salad - A Turks and Caicos favorite.
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